Tips on Dealing With Stress from a Sales Job

In My Humble Opinion
1

Disclaimer: I love my job.

It’s “technically” sales, in that I have a monthly quota to meet, but I’m not on commission. I do get a bonus if I make the monthly goal, but it’s not enough to break me if I don’t get it.

I’ve not worked in sales before, but I’m getting stressed over if I’m going to make goal each month. I wake up in the middle of the night and can’t get back to sleep because I’m worried about how the next day will do. I can’t really relax on my days off because I feel I should be out there making sure things go well. I’m thinking about asking my doctor for anti-anxiety meds when I see her next month.

I’ve made goal each full month I’ve worked so far, but January is going to be down to the wire. It won’t hurt me financially, but it will hurt my self-confidence and I feel like I will have let the team down.

I’ve only been there since August, so I’m hoping things will smooth out, but I could use some advice on how to not sweat the day to day. I have a tremendous support system with my boss and his boss and they’ve got my back. I know a lot of this is self-imposed pressure (my husband says I look for things to worry about) but I do want to do well.

So, how do you deal with the pressure of a sales job? (Please don’t advise me to find a new job. We’re pretty close to paying off the house and this will be my last job before retirement.)

2

Zig Ziglar. One of my best friend’s dad worked in real estate sales and would always have his books on tape playing in the car. I’m sure his books are still in print and he’s got to be available on audio streams.

3

I deal with work related stress by consuming intoxicants of varying types when I’m not working. Probably a suboptimal solution for most people, but so far I haven’t tossed any litigants down stairwells, so there’s that.

4

I don’t know if this will help, but here goes: Do you perceive “sales” as different from other jobs that have some sort of goal or quota? A doctor might want to see X number of patients per day, an office worker is trying to keep up with the paperwork, an actor wants to get through the day without flubbing any lines. Those goals have to be hard enough to be challenging, or else why bother. And if they are indeed challenging enough, wouldn’t they cause the same kind of stress that your sales job gives you?

What sort of jobs did you have in the past, and did they give you any stress?

5

I’ve never done Sales before, but I have done Sales Support. I think part of it is some stuff is out of my control. There’s only so much prep work I can do but ultimately the results aren’t up to me.

6

Since you don’t HAVE to make your sales goal every month, how about missing it once? It might take the pressure off. I still remember the student that I gave an A- to. There were tears of frustration as she told me that she’d never gotten less than an A or usually an A+ throughout high school and undergrad…
My underly-empathetic reply: “Well, then I’m honored to be a part of this crucial growth experience.”

A year later, we were chatting in the hall and she told me she’s having a lot more fun and even learning more “while getting the occasional B*+!”*
I swear she looked younger and taller…

7

Well, I made it this month. It was down to the wire but we did it.

8

Good. I’d suggest finding someone you can trust there and see if they’ll spill the beans about what the true corporate culture is and how important that quota is. Sometimes what they say is a soft quota is an unwritten very hard quota and they’ll make your life a living hell should you miss it.

9

Our management is very engaged and supportive. We had daily calls the last week and a half and they were shifting things around from the people who were clearly going to make goal to help the people who were struggling. This was not in a sense of robbing Peter to pay Paul, but rather getting all hands on deck to help everyone cross the finish line. Today being the last day of the month the boss was telling us that he was very proud of all our hard work and he was very thankful for us. It’s a great organization with a great mission and I’m happy to be working there. We don’t operate in a vacuum and I can get help when I need it. But oh, the stress I’m putting on myself! That’s on me and I’m going into February less bright-eyed and bushy-tailed and more realistic if not cynical.

10

Ivylass, sometimes it helps to tell the stress “okay let’s have it out. Give me your worst! What is the worst thing that is going to happen if what I am worrying about comes to pass?”. Play it out in your mind. What actions will you take? Are they more unpleasant than the anxiety you are subjecting yourself to, worrying about it happening? Very unlikely. When you start spinning your wheels, turn your thoughts to planning. Even push the scenario to a ridiculous level, it can be amusing.

I think another thing that helps is to be an observer of your own thoughts, and the mind body connection. When the wheels start spinning, describe to yourself what is happening. “I am having anxious thoughts about the quota again. I can feel those stress chemicals. My breathing got faster and more shallow and I feel a little nauseated. My body thinks I’m in danger because my brain is tricking it. I am going to breathe deeply and slowly so my body knows we’re ok. It is understandable that this happens because I care so much about doing well. But it is ok if I hit challenges, I am smart and I will keep getting better. There is no danger, I can handle it. “ Try to talk to yourself as you would a good friend.

I don’t know if any of that will help you, but I wish you the best!

11

I’d love to be able to give you some practical advice, but it’s hard without knowing what you are selling.

I was in sales for most of my career, and I was dealing with a relatively small number of large orders. I was selling large systems that took some time to put together, revise, and close. And I had good repeat clients.

That gave me opportunity to game the quota system. I could usually squeeze in a big order at the end of the month if I needed the sales, or I could ask the client to hold it for a few days or a week if I had already made quota and wanted to push the sale forward into the next month or year.

This is the only practical suggestion I have and it may not work for you.

Do you like the job aside from the stress over the quota? Is it the kind of sales job that gives you a chance to develop relationships with clients that will order on a regular basis? In addition to writing orders, are you building a client base?

Does your employer expect you to solicit business from friends and family? Do you feel you are expected to pressure people into buying something they don’t want or need?

I loved my sales career. I was selling automation systems to people that really wanted them and could easily afford them. I met lots of really great people and was able to use my technical skills and experience to help them and I took pride in my work. I didn’t start in sales, I had considerable expertise with the specialized products I sold before I switched to sales.

But a lot of sales jobs really suck. There are companies that put very little investment into their employees. There are sales outfits that essentially put on new salespeople in order to tap into their friend/family network, then they cut them loose once that tap runs dry. There are sales jobs that involve cold-calling strangers with bullshit pitches, looking for the stupid or gullible.

If you really like the job and your anxiety is just due to uneasiness at the idea of a quota, my advice would be to relax and concentrate on doing a good job.

But examine this uneasiness. Is it truly just anxiety over the quota, or are you bothered by the things you need to do or say to make the sales? Do you enjoy talking/meeting with with people you don’t know and trying to sell to them, or does that kind of interaction make you nervous or uncomfortable? If so, is it because you are introverted or are you uncomfortable with the sales techniques your company uses?

If you didn’t have a quota, would you love (or like, at minimum) the job?

I guess I’m saying that before you tackle this problem by working on yourself, your anxiety and your attitude -make sure that’s where the problem is.

12

I want to thank everyone for your advice. Writing this out has helped me realize that what is worrying me most is the lack of control. There’s only so much I can do to make things go well, after that, it’s not up to me. I have to accept that, knowing I have done everything I can. Each day I learn something new. Periwinkle, your advice of acknowledging the fear and letting is pass through me is good. I have Insight Timer but have not been as consistent in using it to calm my mind before bed. I will work on that.

Ann, I truly believe in the mission of the organization and I’m proud to be a part of it. I am building relationships with partners so we can continue to work with them. I don’t have to sell to friends and family, it’s more about educating the public about the importance of what we do.

Breathe, ivylass, breathe.